New drug hazard in Pa.: 'We don't know what these substances are'

Pennsylvania officials on Thursday sounded an alarm over what they characterized as a rash of overdoses involving synthetic drugs. It came a day after the state locked down all of its prisons because of prison staffers becoming sick after accidental contact with synthetic drugs.

However, they stressed that the threat isn't confined to prisons. They warned that medical responders, family members or anyone who tries to help an overdose victim can be sickened as a result of contact with the drugs, which can be highly concentrated and powerful. They advised people attending to overdose victims to wear gloves and immediately call 911.

"We really don't know what substances are out there. Things are being mixed together. Things are being made. We don't know what these substances are," said Jennifer Smith, Pennsylvania's secretary of drug and alcohol programs.

They said some of the recent cases involve K2, a type of synthetic marijuana. Synthetic fentanyl, which is an illegally made opioid, is also part of the "influx" of synthetic drugs, they said.

They said people can call the state's poison help line at 1-800-222-1222 to learn more about synthetic fentanyl and synthetic marijuana.

State officials said they had no statistics but believe there's been a rise in emergency room cases of people who overdosed or where sickened by synthetic drugs.

Meanwhile, the state's 25 prisons remained on lockdown on Thursday. Prison officials put it in place on Wednesday, saying 29 staffers at eight prisons had been treated for overdoses or other symptoms since Aug. 6. In at least three of the instances, staffers were revived with the overdose antidote naloxone.

James Barnacle, the director of investigations and intelligence for the prison system, said the purpose of the lockdown is to allow staff to be trained in protecting themselves from the synthetic drugs, which are being mailed or smuggled into the prisons.

He said prison mail handlers have encountered sheets of paper soaked in synthetic drugs. It takes only a small piece of the paper to cause a high, so someone who comes in contact with a full sheet can easily have an overdose or become sick, he said.

Under the lockdown, the prisons are processing only mail that's directly related to inmates' legal situations.

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